Dytomite Starlite Band of Ghana

Nya Asem Hwe

Too Tough / I'm Not Going to Let You Go

Love Me for Real

Native to New York, musclecars is a DJ / Producer duo consisting of Brandon Weems and Craig Handfield. As musicians, they equally share an admiration for the artform. Their desire to blend genres and express their appreciation for music is focused around their community- the end goal is to bring people together. Through a regular stream of high quality mixes, they have begun to turn heads in underground circles.

In 2018 they launched ‘Coloring Lessons’, a party that was aimed to add value to their city’s nightlife culture. While the party and sound is not genre specific, it is heavily focused around house, disco, jazz, and soul, embracing the musical elements of their black and brown ancestors. The monthly party's intention is to bring New York City's dance music scene back to what it was during the golden era of NY nightlife. They aim to spread the music that has been influential to them, and share it with a younger generation of their peers.

COLORING LESSONS with musclecars @ The Lot Radio 12-31-2023

But / S Stream the album here: https://orcd.co/songforhope

BBE Music welcomes pianist Aki Takase to the J Jazz Masterclass reissue series, with her 1982 live album ‘Song for Hope’.

A musician of poise and precision who has been a noted composer, performer and recording artist for over 40 years, Takase’s ‘Song for Hope’ continues BBE Music’s exploration of Japanese modern jazz from a golden period spanning the late 1960s to the mid-1980s.

The ‘Song for Hope’ album is taken from a recording of Takase’s debut European performance taped in November 1981 at the Berlin Jazz Festival and was originally issued in 1982 by Enja Records, a key European jazz label founded in Munich 1971 by Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber. On Enja, Takase found herself labelmates with some of the world’s leading jazz pianists like Mal Waldron, Dollar Brand and Randy Weston, and she followed in the footsteps of other leading Japanese artists on the label such as Terumasa Hino and Yosuke Yamashita.

The hypnotic title track was included on J Jazz vol. 3, and it features J Jazz stalwart Takeo Moriyama on drums, joined by Nobuyoshi Ino on bass. Moriyama’s career has been well documented on J Jazz vol. 1, and his sublime ‘East Plants’ album was reissued as part of the J Jazz Masterclass Series. Bassist Ino has been an active member of the Japanese jazz scene since the mid-1970s and has performed and recorded with many leading artists and groups including Fumio Itabashi, Masahiko Togashi, Hiromasa Suzuki, Masaru Imada and Masayuki Takayanagi.

Aki Takase was born in Osaka in 1948 and began playing piano aged 3. Raised in Tokyo, she studied classical music at the Toho Gakuen Academy, and her musical interests developed from a starting point in classical, before going on to encompass contemporary music and jazz. Among the first jazz compositions she explored were works by Charles Mingus and Ornette Coleman and, in 1972, she moved to New York, working with, among others, Lester Bowie, John Zorn and Dave Liebman.

She recorded her debut album for Seven Seas/King Records in 1978 and appeared on some key J Jazz album such as Yoshio Ikeda’s ‘Sketches of my Life’ and Seiichi Nakamura’s ‘Wolf’s Theme’. Takase has lived in Berlin since 1987 and is married to German pianist and composer Alexander von Schlippenbach, with whom she records and performs, sometimes as part of the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. She has also performed and recorded extensively with many other leading figures in contemporary jazz and improvised music including David Murray, Fred Frith, Evan Parker, and Maria João.

The J Jazz Masterclass Series is curated by Tony Higgins and Mike Peden for BBE Music.

Aki Takase Trio - Song for Hope

Aki Takase Trio - Monologue

Join Errol and the Touching Bass family every month for regular voyages into inner-city, concrete jungle productions plus astral-facing funk, jazz, broken beat and anything else with a soulful pulse. 
https://www.nts.live/shows/touching-bass/episodes/touching-bass-20th-january-2024

TOUCHING BASS W/ ERROL, SEVEN DAVIS JR. & ILLNOLEDGE 200124

Native to New York, musclecars is a DJ / Producer duo consisting of Brandon Weems and Craig Handfield. As musicians, they equally share an admiration for the artform. Their desire to blend genres and express their appreciation for music is focused around their community- the end goal is to bring people together. Through a regular stream of high quality mixes, they have begun to turn heads in underground circles. In 2018 they launched ‘Coloring Lessons’, a party that was aimed to add value to their city’s nightlife culture. While the party and sound is not genre specific, it is heavily focused around house, disco, jazz, and soul, embracing the musical elements of their black and brown ancestors. The monthly party's intention is to bring New York City's dance music scene back to what it was during the golden era of NY nightlife. They aim to spread the music that has been influential to them, and share it with a younger generation of their peers.

COLORING LESSONS with musclecars @ The Lot Radio 01-28-2024

Celebrating Dilla Month with a mix tape made by Dilla himself. The full mixtape has never been broadcast before in its entirety. We got this mixtape from J Dilla while Peter Adakwah from BBE was in Detroit with him at the time of recording Welcome 2 Detroit.

**For the first time in our 9 year history, we’re asking you, our listeners to help support and build a better Balamii. By subscribing monthly you can contribute to the future of Balamii and help us to continue to nurture our creative community. From as little as £3 a month you'll help cover the cost of generating thousands of hours of great radio and support up and coming artists. As thanks, you’ll receive a code for 20% off our merchandise (code sent 24-48hrs after you subscribe) as well as being the first to hear about our events. Our goal is to develop new features that improve our service and therefore build a better Balamii for our family of artists and listeners.**

Subscribe here - www.balamii.com/supporters

Sweet Nothings w/ Jeff Higgins: Dilla mixtape - February 2024

Ash Walker was in the studio with Audrey Powne celebrating the release of her new project. Lock in for an hour of selected gems. 


**For the first time in our 9 year history, we’re asking you, our listeners to help support and build a better Balamii. By subscribing monthly you can contribute to the future of Balamii and help us to continue to nurture our creative community. From as little as £3 a month you'll help cover the cost of generating thousands of hours of great radio and support up and coming artists. As thanks, you’ll receive a code for 20% off our merchandise (code sent 24-48hrs after you subscribe) as well as being the first to hear about our events. Our goal is to develop new features that improve our service and therefore build a better Balamii for our family of artists and listeners.**

Subscribe here - www.balamii.com/supporters

Ash Walker w/ Audrey Powne - March 2024

recorded live at Blackbear Lodge, Meanjin Brisbane for Ron Trent's 2024 Australian tour.

Ron Trent Warm Up Mix - March 9, 2024

New and forthcoming music on BBE from musclecars, Audrey Powne & The Brkn Record.

Sweet Nothings w/ Jeff - April 2024

Selection of beats and tracks made in 2015. free to use, just ask.



2 - Pre - Or - Not - 2 - Pre

Join the BBE Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/yfBFX

Founded in 1996 by Peter Adarkwah, Barely Breaking Even (BBE Music) started life as a London club night, taking its name from the eponymous Disco record by the Universal Robot Band.

The label grew from the vibrant early 90's club scene with its first release, Stop & Listen compiled by Dr Bob Jones in 1996, opening the door to iconic series' such as All Back To Mine & Late Nite Tales.

A tonne of releases followed, ranging from Disco to Funk, Jazz to House. In the year 2000, the label celebrated Masters at Work's 10th Anniversary with a mighty box set that featured near 80 tracks.

A year later BBE Music spawned the Beat Generation Series of artist albums, notably introducing J Dilla (Welcome 2 Detroit) & a young Will.I.Am's first solo outing, alongside DJ Jazzy Jeff, Madlib & DJ Spinna, all of whom contributed to this seminal set of long players.

A quarter of a century and well over 500 titles later, having worked with Mark Ronson, Roy Ayers, Questlove, Hugh Masekela, DJ Premier, Dimitri from Paris, Joey Negro, Kon, RZA, Laurent Garnier, Black Coffee, DJ Shadow, David Rodigan and John Morales among many others, BBE Music looks to the future, celebrating its rich heritage while continuing to release a bounty of fresh titles.

The label’s most recent projects include an expansive reissue series from pioneering Nigerian label Tabansi, new imprint ‘Batakari’ in association with Boddhi Satva and the critically acclaimed ‘J Jazz’ Japanese Jazz multi-album project, not to mention the recent landmark 500th label release: a brand new version of 'Barely Breaking Even', featuring Leroy Burgess, Patrick Adams and Louie Vega.

In 2021 BBE Music is celebrating its 25th anniversary. To mark this milestone, the label is offering up some special projects, from the 20th Anniversary edition of J Dilla’s ‘Welcome 2 Detroit’, through David Bowie tribute album ‘Modern Love’, to a special new ‘Worldwide’ compilation from old friend Gilles Peterson. BBE Music will also be looking to the future with more exciting original artist projects, plus merch collaborations events and more...

Aki Takase Trio - Monologue

BBE Music

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